Beijing International Film Festival

Photo: bjiff.com

The Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) is an annual international film festival held in the Chinese capital of Beijing. Founded in 2011, the event is sponsored and supported by the People’s Government of the Municipality of Beijing and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China.

Despite some censorship issues, China has a large diversity of foreign films screened in cinemas and broadcast through other media. With 12,000 movie screens and exponentially expanding box office, China is a fast growing and lucrative film market for foreign filmmakers.

The Beijing International Film Festival was conceived as a meeting point for the Chinese and the international film industries. Since its launch, it has been attended by numerous Hollywood executives, studio heads, producers, and directors. Notable actors and directors that have attended the festival include James Cameron, Jeremy Renner, Keanu Reeves, Luc Besson, Alfonso Cuaron, Jean Reno, Timur Bekmambetov, Darren Aronofsky, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Christoph Waltz, Natalie Portman, and others.

The BJIFF hosts a film competition open to domestic and international films. In 2017, the festival committee received over 420 entries from 59 countries and regions. The festival’s international jury consists of seven world-renowned film industry professionals from different countries who vote on ten awards.

The main award of the Beijing International Film Festival is called the Tiantan Award. It was named after one of Beijing’s most notable sights, the Temple of Heaven. The award is presented in ten categories: Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Music.

Alongside the official competition and the awards ceremony, the program of the BJIFF includes the opening and closing ceremonies, Beijing Film Panorama (a number of non-competitive film sections such as tributes, special programs and screenings, etc.), a film forum, a film market, a film carnival, and a series of related events such as concerts, film salon and industry conversations, new film releases, and more.